When you can’t defend your position, silence the opposition with threats

The federal government is weaponizing the Patriot Act against public school parents. Not all parents, just the ones who are conservative and raise their voices at school board meetings against “progressive” – read that way left of center – studies that are seen as introducing problematic topics to young people.

Topics like Critical Race Theory, which holds that America’s founding was racist since 1619, how the United States has always been racist, is still racist, and how racism can only be overcome with extreme reverse racism. If you are white, the students are taught, you should be ashamed of your skin color and denounce your own kind.  A lot of parents are upset because they do not believe the U.S. is racist and they don’t want their children taught to hate themselves.

There are other controversial topics: transgender policies, graphic sexual content, and the ongoing debate over whether students should attend classes without wearing masks (if they should attend in-person classes at all.)

Last week the National School Boards Association sent a plea to Attorney General Merrick Garland, demanding that he employ the Patriot Act against unruly parents who are, they contend, domestic terrorists. Garland, who once hoped to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, seems happy to go along. He issued a sweeping memorandum calling for the FBI to coordinate with federal, state, local, territorial and tribal authorities in each [school] district to develop strategies against the threats.

Aren’t you glad Garland was denied a vote on elevation to the Court?

I reported on school board meetings for years. Most were boring as hell, but occasionally there were raised voices. One thing I know to be true, school boards are not fond of hearing from the people who send their children to be educated, or their tax dollars to pay for it. Most school board members across the country are good people who ran because they thought they could do some good. Generally, they serve for a term or two, get tired of the late night phone calls, and retire.

I doubt if the National School Boards Association truly represents the concerns of most school board members, judging by this portion of its letter to Garland:

“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” the letter read. “Additionally, NSBA requests that such review examine appropriate enforceable actions against these crimes and acts of violence under the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the PATRIOT Act in regards to domestic terrorism, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Violent Interference with Federally Protected Rights statute, the Conspiracy Against Rights statute, an Executive Order to enforce all applicable federal laws for the protection of students and public school district personnel, and any related measure.”

Boy, howdy! That’s a mouthful of potential statutes to lob at perturbed parents.

It’s also wrong. Unconstitutional at best and certain to worsen the dialogue between elected officials and their constituents. How long will it be before city councils and county commissions ask for federal protection? Will we see the deployment of national guard against regular citizens who are exercising their First Amendment rights?

You have to wonder whether there is any action that is out of bounds for this current administration.

The US Patriot Act was enacted so that the federal government could combine intelligence and go after foreign threats more effectively. When “home-grown” terrorism reared its ugly head (in connection with foreign threats) the Patriot Act was beefed up to deal with it.

No one can pretend that the parents who are upset with Critical Race Theory are enemies of America. Hell, they are trying to preserve a traditional love and understanding of America. But they are banging heads against the prevailing zeitgeist in Washington, D.C.

As far as I can tell, there have been no acts of violence against any school board member. Threats? Oh, possibly. Lots of things are said in the heat of the moment when people are denied their right to address their elected officials. We used to realize that tempers cool, and that these are our neighbors.

The Constitution gave the federal government ZERO authority to run our public or private schools. And yet we have the federal Department of Education which parcels out billions of dollars to effectively tell local educators (and school boards) what is and isn’t important.

The Constitution did grant citizens the rights of free speech and assembly, to petition and seek the redress of grievances. Merrick Garland and, by extension, President Joe Biden, don’t mind throwing a little chill into the hearts of ordinary citizens. This is the kind of “we know better than you” garbage that the elites and the left embrace. They should be ashamed, but they are not.

Once upon a time, and not that long ago, new concepts had to prove themselves in the marketplace of ideas. If you had a controversial subject you wanted to teach, you had to back it up with facts, in an open setting.

The left can’t defend what they are pushing, because it is detrimental to the comity of our politics and the stability of our country.  So, they now resort to the threat of force and the denial of basic rights to those whom they disagree.

When I travel, if there is time, I avoid the interstates. America is so much more interesting on the smaller highways, the ones once described as “Blue Highways” by author William Least Heat Moon. Interstates are too often crowded by long-haul trucks and their 53-foot trailers (some doubles as well), so much so that one must concentrate on navigating around the traffic, the scenery if such there is, is missed.

This last trip was notable in that on both types of roadways there was a decided lack of big rig traffic. Some, to be sure, but not what I expected. At first I thought it was only my perception, or a slow day, but after 10 days of travel it became apparent that truck traffic was down. This led to research upon my return.

Another thing: I did not pick up on this at first, but after several days of eye-balling license plates it struck me that there were no Canadian vehicles.  In September, in the Mountain West, there are always Canadians.  And then I remembered that our government is blocking non-essential travel from the Great White North. To stop the spread of Covid, of course. Those hosers are well-known as super spreaders, eh?

There were plenty of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan tagged vehicles. California, Florida and Texas, naturally. We all visit the West to see the same great sites and scenery, but for different reasons. Northerners have completed their summer duties and want to catch a few more golden rays of sun before the cold arrives. Southerners head north because we are anxious for a taste of cooler weather, escaping the summer temps and humidity that linger on no matter what the calendar says.

Americans are more or less free to move about the country with few restrictions (don’t get me started on the ridiculous rules at national park buildings), but Canadians are not welcome.  Yet, on our southern border, we permit thousands of undocumented “migrants” to cross the border with little more than cursory medical evaluations (if that), then spend taxpayer funds to bus and fly these people to points unknown throughout the country where they likely will not show up for immigration court hearings. The logic escapes me, as it does most people.

Our “uninvited” guests will require social services of various kinds. Their children will need medical care and schooling. The adults will need stopgap food assistance, maybe even rent money. Yet the Canadians who cannot vacation here were ready to bring their cash, credit and debit cards and buy meals and merchandise.  How much of an economic loss this poses I cannot begin to fathom, but it is considerable.  Again, the logic is undetectable.

The lack of truck traffic is even more worrisome in that it is indicative of weakness in the supply chain. Just this week new warnings were issued from a coalition of truck drivers, airline workers and seafarers – not only for the U.S. but for other developed nations – that the transportation industry needs to be freed from Covid-related restrictions or we could face a “system collapse.” Two years of supply chain pressure are causing “buckles.” A large number of older, experienced truckers took retirement in order to ride out the pandemic shutdown. Replacements were (and are) not immediately available. Two years ago, going into the pandemic, there already existed a shortage of 60,000 drivers, according to the American Trucking Association. The number is expected to grow to 100,000 by 2023.

While trains do a lot of long-hauling, trucks are necessary for virtually all of the shorter-range deliveries. The cost of hauling goods will go up, and some commodities will be delivered to the highest bidder, because that’s how market economics works. (This too works against small business, as the big corporate giants either have their own trucking or they have the ability to outbid the competition). The cost of almost everything is rising, as anyone knows who shops. Which brings to mind the ignorant ramblings of the lead White House press secretary on Monday, who claims that businesses won’t raise prices of their taxes are increased:

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday defended House Democrats’ tax plan in the face of criticism that the legislation would see taxes and consumer prices rise for many Americans. Psaki insisted President Joe Biden is committed to keeping taxes the same for anyone making less than $400,000 a year, and she called it “absurd” that companies would raise consumer prices in response to higher taxes.

“There are some … who argue that, in the past, companies have passed on these costs to consumers,” Psaki said. “We feel that that’s unfair and absurd, and the American people would not stand for that.”

Not sure (and don’t really care, or I’d look it up) where Jen Psaki received her education, but she should know that even socialists have to eventually bow to supply and demand, the inexorable market laws that cannot be regulated or legislated, and ignored at peril.

Meanwhile, if you were watching carefully and quickly, there were photos of scores of container ships parked off the eleven main ports of California, awaiting unloading. Some have been there for weeks. Over 500 containers yet to be off-loaded at Los Angeles alone. Contributing factors include shortages of dock workers, shortages of trucks to load, container ships that are several times larger than before and take extra time to unload, thus clogging the ports. It’s already a cluster and getting worse.

What are we to think? More importantly, what are we to do?

What won’t help is panic purchasing or hoarding. Better advice is figure out you’re your potential needs might be and begin small purchases of those things, having at least a month or so in reserve of those things that will keep you alive.  Any period of shortage will be met with panic buying, and that will only extend the period of shortage. (Remember the toilet paper crunch of 2020!)

Worse, however, is that this administration will likely leap into action to begin rationing or price controls, or both. In its hubris and conceit, believing that its planners actually understand markets, will screw up the marketplace. They probably will not hesitate to impose draconian restrictions on interstate commerce.

This is potentially nasty business. I would like to think that the American people are smart enough to reject command-and-control economics.  The reality is that I am less certain enough people remember that central planning has never worked very well.  Lord help us all if central planning is done on the basis of economic or racial or gender equity.

The real solution is freedom. Let the markets work and restore themselves. There will be a period of imbalance, but it will be resolved. Nothing screws up markets more than government interference. Americans should not stand for it. It is not enough to shout “F— Joe Biden” at NASCAR races and football games, as amusing (and as American) as that is. It is time for quiet, discerning talk among people of all political stripes to discover those principles and values we have in common, making plans to help one another over the hard times.

And voting overwhelmingly in 2022 to toss out the political support for the left.

I recently spent nearly two weeks traveling through portions of the western U.S., some of it prime tourist country (Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse) and some of it a little less traveled (Thermopolis and Riverton, Wyoming). For grins, we took a side trip to Wall Drug to shop, to eat and to gauge the mood of the traveling public. All totaled, we visited nine states.

I wanted to get a feel for the economy, the perception of the reality behind the numbers. What I found was disturbing.

There were “Help Wanted” and “Now Hiring” signs everywhere, no exceptions. There were businesses shuttered because of the lack of workers. Hotels apologized for the lack of room service, laundry and fresh towels. “We appreciate your patience,” I was told more than once. “What little staff we have is running itself ragged just to keep up with the basics.”

At one restaurant in Hill City, South Dakota – a place that gets rave reviews for its food – an obviously weary assistant manager seated guests, brought drink orders, delivered the eventual platters of food, handled refills and extra requests, was the cashier when it came time to collect, and then bussed the tables, clearing the old dishes and making the tables ready for the next customers.  He might even have helped cook the food. I couldn’t say for sure.

Service was slow, and some patrons were not understanding. When I had a chance, I complimented him on his hustle and his patient demeanor. How long, I asked, is your shift?

“I came on just before our breakfast this morning. My relief called in sick, so I will be here until midnight.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I could say this is rare, but it’s happening a lot. We’re all worn out. We need more help but no one really wants to work.” I tipped the young man well but I doubt very many of the other diners did, judging by their grumbling.

His was a common refrain. A successful bar-b-que joint in Florida closed its doors, at least temporarily because “no one really wants to work.” Job openings are at an all-time high, wage offerings are up, but the desire to take those jobs isn’t there. In my home town, a seemingly successful automotive and truck tire store went under because they couldn’t find the workers needed to deliver prompt service. Husband AND wife are now working jobs and paying off debt. And not happy.

This is America?

It isn’t easy to kill a market economy, but it can be done. You do it by creating barriers to employment. You impose lockdowns (“for two weeks, to slow the spread”) that go on for months. You pay millions of workers extra unemployment money (out of compassion, of course) to wait it out. You send out stimulus checks to everybody, even people who are “essential workers” and you promise more to come.

Some people, those of a certain maturity, decide to retire, to live on pensions or social security. It’s hard to blame them. Other people get comfortable with not working, instead waiting for the next handout. Some people were living on the margins anyway, and their new reality is not that different from the old reality, except that they more fervently believe that the government will step in to save them; indeed, that it has a moral obligation to do so.

Expecting government of any kind to exercise moral judgment is an iffy proposition. Human nature being what it is, you can count on government to do only a couple of things well: wield power and levy taxes. Everything else, no matter how well meant, is usually inefficient.

In a year and a half, we have seen one of the most vibrant economies on record stripped of its robust character. I am not referring to the former president, although the phrase certainly fits. We have replaced one administration with another that is using many of the old collectivist techniques that have failed everywhere they have been tried. It should be no surprise that people who do not trust or understand market economies will insist on policies that work against them.

The overarching excuse is that we have a pandemic that threatens lives. This, despite the fact, that the overall numbers compiled by the Centers for Disease Control do not make the case for it.  Recent headlines screamed that 1 out of every 500 people who contract Covid-19 die (it’s actually 1 out of 528). That sounds horrible, right?  But do the math. I know, it’s kind of scienc-y, but as bumper stickers across this fair land declare, “Science is real!”  The percentage of death is .002 percent. Which means that if you contract Covid you have a 99.8 percent chance of survival. I’m in the supposed “high risk” group, but I’ll take those odds. Read that again: 99.8 percent chance of survival. Of beating the 21st Century version of the Black Plague. Which it obviously isn’t.

And yet we have turned our economic house upside down. Small businesses, not just restaurants but all sorts of enterprises, have closed by the thousands. Small business, in case you did not know, hires more people than the big corporate entities.  And now the government is pushing a mandate that would bar employment for workers of any business that hires over 100 people. Explain why 100 is the magic number? If this is a good idea, then why not 50? Or 10? Or 5?  Federal Covid policy changes every week, sometimes every day.

Should I be barred from working because I won’t get “the shot” of a vaccine that, scientifically speaking, isn’t a vaccine but an experimental therapeutic that tricks the body into thinking it has the coronavirus?

How much power do once-free Americans continue to transfer to politicians who take their orders from unelected bureaucrats and administrators?

The people at the top do not seem to care. You should.

Now for a brief sermon. If you believe that human beings are created by God with certain unalienable rights – life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness – then you understand that we have both conscience and free will.  Our Creator wants us to learn to use both responsibly, and He will not deprive us of them.  Unfortunately, there are plenty of mere human beings who are only too happy to inform me that my conscience doesn’t count, and my free will (along with my rights) is conditional and can be modified or eliminated if “the experts” declare it necessary (“for the common good”, of course). Perhaps this is why the federal government, and some state governments, work so hard to diminish and muzzle Christians.  God-talk about the dignity of the human individual, including the right to meaningful work, goes against a “one-size-fits-all” philosophy that sees us as a collective of interest groups that must be controlled.

On a closing note, I have been silent for too long. Busy in life, but quiet. That must change. For me and for everyone who believes that freedom is worth preserving. We have to use our rights of free speech and press to avoid being rolled over by those who seek power over us. It is important that we know what is going on. It’s vital that each day we do the right, moral things so that we can provide hope to the hopeless, and help to those who are confused.

A simple question: Do you believe in freedom?

Not just about the freedom to grow a beard or to go clean shaven, although that’s part of it. Not about choosing Pepsi over Coke, or Miller over Budweiser. Or the decision to wear a red dress rather than a blue dress? Freedom is more than these.

“Of course,” you reply.

How about the freedom to move to another city or state? To reinvent yourself? To start a small business with your family or a couple of friends? To take a different type of job?

“Yeah, I guess. If I really wanted to,” you say.

How about the freedom to walk down the street without fear of being spied upon by a drone which relays your position and activity to a governmental entity (via a private company that has agreed to provide this information)?

“Duh! That sounds like a police state.”  (Correct: it is, and it’s already here.)

The freedom to be wrong? To be completely upside down on your facts and opinion?  And the freedom to say incorrect things with your voice, your pen, your social media post?

“I’m not sure I agree,” you may say. “People should not be allowed to disseminate false information. They need to be held accountable for their statements. There needs to be a gate-keeper against fake news.”

Do you believe the freedom to fail?

“Whoa!” you may exclaim. “That’s going too far. We should have the freedom to succeed!”

If this is what you believe, then I must conclude that you do not believe in freedom. Or, more likely, you don’t understand it.

Freedom is a dangerous concept because it comes loaded with potential side effects. But these are not necessarily bad things. In some cases, they are features.

What is Freedom?  Freedom is the opposite of slavery.  Most people are against slavery, as understood in the traditional sense. Chains, coerced labor, denial of basic human rights. And you are correct to oppose this kind of slavery.

But slavery goes beyond the obvious. Slavery includes being told what to think, what to eat, how to live, where to work, who to vote for, whose orders to obey, where you can travel, when you can travel, who you can talk to, and who you can’t. Slavery includes limitations on how much you can earn, and how much you should be taxed in order to sacrifice “for the good of everyone.”

There is no such thing as a society with perfect freedom. But there are societies that are more free than others. You have heard it said that “with freedom comes responsibility.”  And this is true. But you have to understand the nature of freedom and where those responsibilities kick in.

The United States is a country that has conducted a great experiment in freedom. The founders declared that all people are born with the rights to life, to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They followed up a few years later with a Constitution which included a Bill of Rights that set limits on the powers of government.

Why? Because the greatest danger to individual freedom is the conception of “group rights.” In the name of the “good of everyone,” you can legislate practically anything. Little by little, the shackles and chains declared necessary by law to protect various oppressed groups, animals, plants, and even the planet itself, begin to tighten the noose around our ability to live as free men and women.

The freedom to succeed must include the freedom to fail, or it is not freedom. There is no such thing as guaranteed success, and once we begin to issue societal guarantees of success (for the good of the whole) it is only a matter of time when universal failure results.

Today every individual has the opportunity to voice their opinions to a wide audience. Freedom of speech and press is guaranteed to Americans. But there are voices of fear and intimidation, supported by rich individuals and corporations, who want to ban speech with which they disagree. And in many instances are succeeding. They pay fealty to government bureaucrats for political and economic protection.

This is evil. It is a forerunner to the slavery of thought. Of group-think. It is, at its basic level, un-American.  We do not need gate-keepers and media overlords to police our thoughts and voices.  This is an offense against Freedom. The cure for differing opinions is not censorship, but more freedom. Allowing a robust debate of fact and opinion. Let people decide for themselves. Let the best ideas triumph, and the worst fail.

Once we relinquish our freedom to speak our minds, it is only a matter of time when our rights to freedom of association, to petition for redress of wrongs, to peaceably assemble, and to practice our religious beliefs openly will be infringed, limited, regulated and shackled.

Consider what kind of society you wish to bequeath to your children and children’s children. Will it be one of opportunity, or one limited by the tyranny of the collective?

Loving freedom does not mean that you hate government, only that you require your government to be obedient to the wishes of those who pay the bills. You require it to be held accountable for its behavior, at home and abroad. This includes fiscal accountability, not profligate spending of money that will shackle future generations with sky-high taxes and/or crippling inflation.

Freedom is slipping away. Soon, you will be asked to support a path that will take you even farther away from freedom. Please say no.